Built in 1841, you'd expect that the last ever wooden whaling ship would need a bit of patching up by now. Luckily, state-of-the-art 3D laser systems are on hand, able to scan for weak structural points in need of fixing.

The above scan is the result of that system, and managed to pinpoint $10 million worth of repairwork needed for the Charles W. Morgan, before it is fit for the seas again (said to be by the end of 2012).

Some might argue that it should be shipped out to the boat graveyard, but there's an obvious vested interest in something as historical as this. Not that it'll slip back onto the seas for a spot of whaling, of course. [New Scientist]